Forest Dept to Lokayukta: We have "lost" Sudarshan's Rap Sheet

Forest Dept to Lokayukta: We have “lost” Sudarshan’s Rap Sheet

August 22nd, 2011 by Staff Reporter | 1 Comment »

The Karnataka Forest Department seems to have lost the Lokayukta report indicting and recommending action against G.A. Sudarshan, the Conservator of Forests(presently serving Shimoga), for his involvement in letting the timber mafia chop down trees in the Western Ghats forests in Kodagu in return for a bribe back in 2007. In a apparent move to buy more time instead of taking action against the Conservator of Forests, they have asked the Lokayukta to send a new copy to them.

Following the disclosure, G.A. Sudarshan was suspended in 2007, only to be reinstated and brought back to Kodagu at the best of the BJP ex-President Sandanada Gowda. But when things got to heat up after Air Marshal K C Cariappa filing a petition on the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court’s Central Empowerment Committee taking note, he was transferred out of Coorg.

A committee headed by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in a report had submitted that the officer was solely responsible for felling 3,750 trees in virgin, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and granted permissions to widen roads in forest areas violating Forest (Conservation) Act 1980.

The Virajpet MLA and Speaker, K.G.Bopaiah had even tried to pressurize the ex-cm B.S.Yeddyurappa to reinstate the tainted forest officer and that too – back to Coorg.

Sudarshan somehow got his job back and he is now conservator of forests (plans and survey), Shimoga.

The former Lokayukta cheif Justice Santosh Hegde has warned the forest department and told them that he knows how to deal with them.

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Tags: Air Marshal K C Cariappa, Conservator of Forests, G A Sudarshan, Justice Santosh Hegde, K G Bopaiah, Karantaka forest department, Lokayukta, Sadananda Gowda, timber mafia
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1 Comment

At 2011.09.02 14:03, JEEVAN GANAPATHI said:

I read an article in THE STAR OF MYSORE dtd 30th Aug. INCREASED ELEPHANT MENACE IN KODAGU, we can put the entire blame on the so called FOREST DEPT, b”cause very recently while I was travelling from MYSORE to SRIMANGALA via NAGARAHOLE I noticed a family from HUNSUR(on enquiry) having liquior and non veg food on the road side and that too in the national game santuary, and on the same day while coming back I was stopped at the exit gate veeranahosahally and questioned for watching wild life along with a few friends who had come down from BANGALORE,we were stopped b’cause as per the drunk guards rules we had to exit the outer gate by 7pm,for your info there are about 30 road humps and a speed limit where you cannot travel more than 25kmph, we being KODAVAS face such harashment think of others who are not familiar with their objective(drunk guard wanted money to gulp some more pegs) to fleece tourists who come from outside. It is such a sad scene some times to see a huge teak tree vanishing overnight from the road side and this is happening in a very large scale and when everything is happening under whoever is concerned there is nothing we can do to stop them, when elephants are coming into MYSORE it is no big deal they are coming into coffee plantations,at the pace the deforestation is done they won”t have anything to eat and that day is not too far when we see them in the main roads of KUTTA, BALELE, KANOOR to name a few,we have lost our rights after the BRITISH left INDIA,in my view they should have continued ruling us. BRAVE KODAVAS SAVE KODAGU.

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